One of my favorite noodle soups hails from Northern Vietnam. Unlike the south, the north has less fertile land, so the diet is more spartan. Lots of the cuisine make use of few ingredients that stretch a long way – big on clarity of taste and smell. Bun rieu is a broth made from crab and shrimp – it’s a light soup that has a the delicate sweetness of the crustacean and shellfish components and a light hint of deep pungency from the added shrimp paste.
Here’s my recipe using common ingredients found in Western stores. In Vietnam, small crabs found in the rice fields and their roe would be key ingredients. Elsewhere, other ingredients will try to mimick those flavors.
Ingredients (makes 6 bowls):
- Dried Chinese shrimp (a handful)
- Fresh crab meat (¾ cup)
- 2 eggs
- White onion (half)
- Garlic (5 cloves)
- Scallions (1 bunch)
- Salt and pepper (liberal use)
- Ketchup (2 tablespoons)
- ‘Bun rieu’ crab paste (1 tablespoon)
- Shrimp paste
- Chicken broth
- Water
- Tomatoes (2)
- Vermicelli
- Herbs: Thai basil, bitter herb, cilantro, sorrel, sawtooth, etc.
- Limes
- Siracha sauce
Soup:
Soak the dried shrimp in warm water for about 20 minutes or until soft. Don’t discard the water when done – instead, set aside. With a mortar and pestle, pound the shrimp until it is a dried paste.
Finely chop onion and garlic. Lightly stir fry the crab with the onion, garlic, ketchup and crab paste until brown. Add the mixture to the shrimp in a large bowl. Liberally season with salt and pepper. Wait until the mixture cools.
Crack two eggs and mix it with the shrimp and crab until the mixture is thick.
Slice the tomatoes into quarters. Finely chop the scallions.
Heat up 6 cups of water and 6 cups of chicken broth. Use a large ladle and scoop up the shrimp and crab mixture and gently lower it one by one in the boiling broth. The mixture should stay together (like a meatball) because of the egg. Lower the heat so the soup simmers for 20 minutes. Add in the tomatoes.
Serve and Prepare:
Boil water and prepare the vermicelli. I pour cold water over it when you take it out of the boiling water. Divide the vermicelli into bowls. Ladle the broth into the bowls and add a healthy dose of herbs. Add half a teaspoon of shrimp paste, one lime wedge and Siracha sauce to taste. Garnish with the scallions.